Do Event Visitors Really use Social Media?

For years now, we have been told that social media are crucial for the marketing of your event. But do these congress and event visitors really use the social channels? Event marketing company Sparks and survey agency Exhibit Surveys Inc. researched this question in the United States. And it turns out that they do use it. And what may be surprising: the most popular medium for event visitors is Facebook.

Results of the research can be found in the report 'Social Media and Events: Connecting the Dots'. We summarize the most important conclusions for you.

83% of the respondents effectively uses social media for business events.

89% feels that social media offer added value.

Most respondents look at the content on social media, but do not actively interact with it themselves.

Visitors of congresses and events like to share, tag and like pictures of fellow visitors and pictures and videos of keynote speakers.

Facebook the most popular medium

So you need a well thought out social media strategy. The best thing to do is create a profile specifically for your event. On that profile, you publish content, create discussions and build relations with your participants. You do this before, during and after your event. Maybe surprising: Facebook is the most popular medium for events. No less than 37% of the respondents uses Facebook. 21% brings up LinkedIn, while Twitter has to make do with 15%. In short, Facebook is 'the place to be' for your event. Prospects also look at the Facebook profile of an event to decide whether they'll participate or not (55%). So keep your content up-to-date. And think about investing in social advertising.

Participants matter most

"It's all about the people, people!" The research definitely confirms this creed. So put your visitors or participants on that pedestal and they will enthusiastically 'share', 'tag' and 'like'. Pictures and videos of your participants and speakers, that's what it's about. And that's where you focus on as a marketeer.

Decision

Social media are potent tools for event marketing, regardless of the type of event that you're organising. Participants eagerly make use of it. Most of them will definitely look at the content on social media. A large part also actively interacts with it, at least when it's about the participants or the speakers. It's wise to take this into account when you plan the marketing of your next event.